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"The voters are not dumb. They got frustrated with the rising house prices and rents across Croydon area. The salary never increased in the past 5 years. I am thinking of moving out of Croydon to a place where I can afford."

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A departing Waddon councillor has lashed out at "dumb" voters after her party lost all three seats in the ward in last week's local elections.

Conservative Clare George-Hilley, who did not stand for re-election, wrote on Facebook that she felt "very let down" by the electorate and suggested some "shouldn't be allowed to vote".

The founder of the Conservative Future Women group posted the comment after Labour ousted her party in the marginal ward in Thursday's polls and won back control of the council for the first time since 2006.

She wrote: "Feel very let down by people we have served for 8 years. We built them a new leisure centre, spent millions improving parks & roads and they vote for the opposition.

"If people are so dumb that they don’t know the difference between a general or local election then they shouldn’t be able to vote”.

Mrs George-Hilley today elaborated on her comment, writing on a Conservative-affiliated blog: "As someone who was the first in my family to go to university, I am a great believer in social mobility and am very disappointed that the Croydon Labour party managed to win the local election locally because of a rise in support of UKIP.

"Over the last few years, the Conservatives in Croydon have helped deliver a new leisure centre for Waddon and the £1bn Westfield Hammerson regeneration scheme, whilst keeping council tax low."

She added she was "upset" that Andrew Pelling had been elected in Waddon in part because of her friendship with his ex-wife, Lucy.

Mr Pelling, former Conservative MP for Croydon Central, said: "Waddon Labour councillors will show residents respect and courtesy as we work to build a strong sense of community across the ward."